When: Friday, June 21, 2024 // Track: Laurel Park // Pool: Late Pick 4 (Races 6 - 9)

A pair of crowded 5-1/2F turf sprints surround a pair of evenly-matched allowance races, an inviting combination for the 50-cent Late Pick 4 wager at Laurel Park this Friday, June 21.

Here’s a closer look with a suggested $36 ticket:

LRL 6th race 3:00PM ET) -- BARZINI worked forwardly for his seasonal debut but ‘fought restraint’ while 3- and 4-wide and gave way in the stretch. He won both of his turf sprints last year and offers some value in the leadoff leg. GREAT IDEA rallied for two wins and two seconds at this distance on the Laurel Park lawn before a troubled trip when last seen in November. He was bumped at the start, launched a rally from last in the stretch and was full of run when shut off between rivals near the sixteenth pole. HAD TO HAVE HIM benefitted from a rapid pace and rallied for second in a second-level allowance. He will be an underlay but is hard to leave off the ticket.

LRL 7th race (3:31PM ET) -- Going four-deep in this 7F allowance for Maryland breds. ONEOFTHEGOODGUYS ‘finished well’ for second despite lugging in two starts back, then willingly pursued a runaway repeat winner and held second again. He could be cycling toward another strong effort in his first long sprint attempt. CARVELLIAN QUEST won 3 of his last 6 one-turn races on the main track by a combined 10-1/4 lengths and is a viable price play off the claim. Trainer Linda Rice ships in AUGUSTINE RED, who ‘improved position’ and ran third against a runaway repeat winner at Aqueduct. The last-place finisher in that 6-1/2F race came back with a wire-to-wire win in a $50,000 optional claimer. IRISH WARLOCK finished second in 6 of 7 starts prior to facing better rivals going a route of ground on Preakness weekend.

LRL 8th race (4:02PM ET) -- MALIBU BEAUTY repelled a bid by multiple stakes-placed favorite I’m The Boss of Me (5-22, $334k) to win at one mile off a six-month layoff. She cuts back to a distance at which she finished first or second in 8 of 11 starts and gets Lasix again, an angle that has produced 15 top two finishes in 22 starts. HAPPY CLOUDS stayed after hard-hitting, 2-to-5 fave Lightnin Runner (9-18, $256k) and caught her late for an upset win in her seasonal debut around two turns at Charles Town. She’s a model of consistency and has good tactical speed with the rail draw.

LRL 9th race (4:33PM ET) -- CIRILLA set the pace for this far in a triple ‘key’ turf route at Tampa, then she chased odds-on favorite and next-out allowance winner Riley Jean before flattening out on Presque Isle Downs’ all-weather track. CALL TO ORDER debuts off a string of bullet workouts. Her dam, Whyyouask, won at first asking and finished first or second in all three turf sprints. LA BEFANA, bet down to favoritism after six months away, lacked speed but got up for third in the same spot. In her prior 5-1/2F turf sprint she ‘closed well too late’ and into photo-finish view behind Mollie Tapper (2nd in a $20k claimer June 1), eventual Maiden Special Weight winner Run Around Slew and next-out winner No Abstract Moment.

My Suggested 50-Cent Ticket:

LRL 6th Race: 1, 3, 8
LRL 7th Race: 1A, 2, 3, 8
LRL 8th Race: 1, 4
LRL 9th Race: 4, 5, 8

Cost for 50-cent ticket: $36